Sacrifices Among Mates
by prongswhatthefuck
Summary: There are few groups that prove to have a stronger bond than the Marauders. But just as it is with everything, all friendships are tested. This is the story of the extent to which the Marauders are willing to go for each other.


(AN: I don't own anything in this story except a few characters, that privilege belongs to J.K. Rowling. I would _really_ appreciate it if you all left reviews of any kind telling me what you think of the story. The more I feel like people actually want to read what I write, the faster the next chapters will come out. Thanks!)

There are few things James Potter loved more than Quidditch. Some would even argue that he loved Quidditch more than anything. In fact, James went so far out with pride for Quidditch that he even got McGonagall to paint her face Gryffindor colors at the pre-season game against Hufflepuff.

"You enchanted the paint on her." Remus reminded him.

"True, but she didn't remove it or punish me."

"Remember when you even got Slytherins to cheer for Gryffindor in the match against Ravenclaw?" Peter added.

"How could I forget? It was one of my finest moments. The only thing Slytherins hated more than us was the fact that they were about to lose House Cup to the braggarts in Ravenclaw."

"I think my favorite part of that was Snivellus being surrounded by his house mates cheering for his "mortal enemy.'" Sirius emphasized the last words with air quotes before lighting his cigarette.

"Do you have to do that?" Remus asked disgustedly. "Were still on school grounds you know."

"We're by the tree!" Countered Sirius as they approached their trademarked tree. It was in the perfect location: hidden from sight at a far enough distance away from the school; the long branches of the willow provided a makeshift shield from watchful eyes.

"If you're that keen on developing lung cancer, I'm sure I can find you a spell to save you the time. That way you don't have to waste your muggle money on rolled tobacco." quipped Remus.

"It's for the aesthetic, thank you very much." Said Sirius as he took a long drag and exhaled the smoke peacefully.

James, lost in a world of thought, was seated. His quill danced over a blank sheet of sketch paper and filled it with scribbles. To the untrained eye, the scribbles might look like a very confusing game of tic-tac-toe. But to a Quidditch-enthusiast, it held the key to the plays that would score Gryffindor their win against Slytherin this coming Saturday.

"Hey lads?" Peter broke the silence among them. "There's a match this Saturday, right?"

"C'mon, mate. It's only the one thing James has been talking about for the past two weeks." Remus exaggerated.

"Right well according to my charts there's a full moon this coming Saturday."

The three boys scrambled to peer at Peter's perfectly accounted charts. He doubled checked based off last month but his data held true.

"Bloody hell," Groaned Sirius, taking a longer-than-necessary drag.

"I guess I'll just have to miss the match then." said James, trying his best to hide his disappointment behind his smile.

"Not necessarily," Pete piped up. "If you secure the snitch before the sun sets then you can still come. You'll just need better plays."

"Oi, my plays are great." Defended James in a playfully hurt manner that may have not been all fake.

"It starts at three, right? So that gives you about 3 to 4 hours until the sun sets. All you have to do is catch it before then." helped Sirius.

Remus stayed quiet through the conversation. He was surely glad James would give up his match for him, but he'd already given so much. They've all sacrificed everything for him, and frankly, he didn't fancy himself worth it. He knew James and he would never pick a Quidditch match over Remus. But he also knew the Slytherin captain, Billy Mcavoy, and knew he wouldn't even think of playing easy. Each team was so equally talented, the match was sure to last more than a few hours. The only way to ensure it was short was to tip the scale in favor of one of the teams. But Remus didn't know Quidditch, and certainly couldn't think of a play James hadn't already thought of. Really, the only logical thing to do was to make sure Gryffindor's seeker was much better than Slytherin's.

That night, when James was in the shower, Remus signaled Peter and Sirius to his bed. He proposed that they temporarily maim Slytherin's starting seeker just so that he couldn't play for this one game.

"But we can't tell James."

"Why not?"

"Because you know that if he knew Slytherin wasn't at their best he wouldn't accept the win and would go on about it for decades." This statement, though exaggerated, was true.

"But if we prank someone so badly that they end up in the infirmary won't we get detention? And then James will become suspicious as to why we didn't include him." questioned Peter. He was known for finding flaws in every plan, even thoroughly thought-out ones.

"Yes and then you'll choke up and tell him and Prongs'll get mad at us." Sirius said because Peter was also known for not being able to keep a secret.

"We'll just have to not get caught." Peter said matter-of-factly.

"Wow, never thought of that one before." Mocked Remus.

"Wait hold on. Someone's going to have to get caught, it's inevitable, but what if we stage it to frame it on someone else."

A look crossed Remus and Peter's face at the same time. "Snivellus." They grinned.

"Exactly my fellow marauders." Sirius said with a smile that could only be described as mischievous.

As James exited the shower, his unperceptive self couldn't detect the change in mood from his friends as plans for pranking started to appear in their minds. While Wormtail, Padfoot, and Moony dreamt up plans for pranks, Prongs dreamt of plans for winning plays.


End file.
